The King of Scots

Smell: Grainy, a bit tart. Citrus and fudge notes are present, but with an underlying rubbery, sulphurous character. It's a fairly standard scent for a budget blended scotch, bringing Grant's to mind. Taste: A mildly zesty and abrupt entry. It presents as metallic cereal flavors with very little progression. The core has a grippy ethanol quality, similar to inexpensive vodka. Some malty notes emerge, leaning towards simple burnt sugar, and that sulfur scent reappears, showing its unpleasant side. The consistency is thin and somewhat watery. Aftertaste: Brief, thin, and dry. Cereal flavors fade into a mild bitterness. Douglas Laing typically offers quality spirits, and certain blended malts and cask-strength bottlings are exceptional. This blended scotch has been available since shortly after World War II. While older versions and special editions are respected and fetch good prices at auction, the contemporary rendition of the blend is quite disappointing. It's not precisely a bad whisky, but it's unremarkable and very immature. If this whisky were a person encountered socially, you'd react with a facepalm and depart. Furthermore, it seems to rely heavily on what I perceive as very low-quality grain whisky at its foundation, combined with rather harsh and industrially produced malt. Could it be Girvan and immature Glenrothes? My overall feeling was one of neglect – like a legacy product kept in production to satisfy a guaranteed and loyal niche customer base, but Douglas Laing shows little interest in it or in crafting something special. It is surpassed by nearly every other blended scotch in its price range, and I definitely would not suggest it. "Poor": 64/100 (1.25 stars)

The aroma presents some spice and citrus with ethanol that isn't too harsh. The taste offers sweet vanilla notes, certainly some spice, but it's well-integrated in my opinion. It's a little dry and brief on the finish. A decent blended scotch!

Less than satisfactory.